Comfortable in their skin.

Miranda Harcourt & Stuart McKenzie
Biography of My Skin
Thursday 23^rd September
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall

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Dear Miranda, Dear Stuart –

I don’t normally do ‘plays’. I guess that’s because I could never hear what anyone was saying. But now I can. I’m glad I came to yours. Today I’m 30 and have a baby on the way. Nicola brought me tickets. We’ve been married almost 2 years now.

We were curious to see what this ‘play’ was all about. It’s always interesting when you know the characters on stage. And you two are characters.

Stuart, I remember you talking about this project years ago, when Neil Pardington, you and I worked on the titles of For Good and they were good titles (but let me interrupt myself here, Stuart, a note on the titles, please email me next time – the titles last night were atrocious!). I didn’t like that script (For Good) much. The content too rough.

But this one. This one was a doozy. It crackled and popped, slipped and slithered, cuddled and caressed its way along. Stuart the director, scriptwriter, puppetmaster, Miranda the pawn, or was it the other way around? Stuart are you Miranda? Miranda are you Stuart?

Stuart I’d forgotten you were such a good actor. But I suspect you were playing yourself. And Miranda, wow.

It’s such a good story, you two are so eventful. There were harrowing parts too, I teared up when you mentioned that bootprint on a card. I’d gone from laughing to despair. But I suspect it was a ‘didn’t kill us, made us stronger’ moment.

I especially like how you wove your children into this, endearing beautiful pictures they are.

But what most interested me was the on stage dynamic between you ‘Stuart’ and you ‘Miranda’. What it’s like to live and work together. What It’s like to find yourselves – discovering you’re comfortable in your skin.

Bravo.